Range of farm buildings at Tre-Owen Farm

The range of farm buildings at Tre-Owen Farm comprises an L-shaped complex enclosing the north and west sides of the farmyard. It includes a long cow-house aligned north-south, a later lofted cart-shed extending from the north end of the cow-house and linking it to the south side of a barn standing at right angles and extending east. The buildings are constructed of a mix of random rubble and handmade red and brown brick, with roofs using both blue slate and corrugated iron.

The cow-house is a long, low range of eight structural bays built on a slight slope, with the land to the rear (west) lower than at the front. The exterior is mostly of random rubble, but the upper part of the rear wall and the south gable are of handmade brown brick. The roof is clad with corrugated iron and includes translucent corrugated-sheet skylights. The east front has wide, full-height openings broken through in the 1st, 5th, and 7th bays, likely during a 1950s remodelling to create a milking parlour. Evidence of blocked windows with wooden lintels is visible between the 1st and 2nd openings. A rubble-built flight of steps leads to a loft doorway in the cart-shed, positioned above the 8th bay. The rear wall contains several blocked windows, and the brick-built upper part suggests a later raising of the wall height.

The cart-shed’s front (east) is of handmade red brick in Flemish bond, while the rear is of rubble. The roof is covered with blue slate. It is two storeys high, with a ground floor of three open bays supported by two brick piers bridged by massive timber lintels. A set-back wooden wall with a 2-light window and a narrow doorway occupies the first bay. A loft doorway breaks the eaves, with the roof lifted over it, and a 2-light wooden window with four panes in each light is situated in the center bay. The north end of the cart-shed adjoins the south side of the barn, and its roof joins the barn’s roof slightly below the ridge.

The barn has walls of random rubble and a roof mostly of blue slate, with corrugated iron replacing the covering over the west bay. It appears to be based on a five-bay plan with a central, full-height wagon doorway that has quoined jambs and relatively recent split-level board doors, including a small wicket door at the base. To the east, each of the two eastern bays features an unusual, very tall opening horizontally divided by a single stone transom.

The cow-house contains seven asymmetrical collar trusses – the east wall is slightly higher than the west - alternately with one and two collars, carrying two tiers of trenched purlins. The structural date of the cow-house appears to be 18th century. The interiors of the cart-shed and barn were not inspected.